Objectifying people

This following incoherent rambling was inspired by a sign that I saw today in the university: <div><div align="center">“This door is only for wheelchairs and item deliveries”</div>This is one of those “fine line” things, and a fairly good example of how to handle political correctness well.

It’d be ridiculous to say that this is a blatant example of how the modern society objectifies people who have special needs, and we need to remove this heinous sign right now. It’s ridiculous to say that a sign that puts “wheelchairs” and “item deliveries” is about objectification of people.

…but that’s exactly what some people might say.

But it is reasonable, and necessary, to question people who see people in wheelchairs as a non-human burden to society, packages that need to get handled by other people. People in wheelchairs are people, not packages.

The evils of dehumanisation lie in actually harmful attitudes of people, not in clouded minds of people who are incapable of making coherently worded signs. Work on the bigger problems in peoples’ attitudes, not tiny little problems in signage.